Tesla releases pictures of Model 3 production in Gigafactory 3

Tesla confirmed that it has completed some “full” Model 3 vehicles as part of trial production at Gigafactory 3 in China, and it released a full gallery of pictures from the factory.

As we previously reported, the start of production at Gigafactory 3 in Shanghai is a major milestone since it’s going to be the first electric vehicle factory wholly owned by a foreign automaker in China, and Tesla’s second electric vehicle production factory to date.

As part of its Q3 2019 earnings report, Tesla confirmed that trial production has started:

Trial production of Model 3 in Shanghai has begun, ahead of schedule.

The automaker confirmed that it has produced full vehicles at the new factory:

We are already producing full vehicles on a trial basis, from body, to paint and to general assembly, at Gigafactory Shanghai. We have cleared initial milestones toward our manufacturing license and are working toward finalizing the license and meeting other governmental requirements before we begin ramping production and delivery of vehicles from Shanghai.

Earlier this week, Tesla reported being ready to start production while awaiting government approval.

In its earnings report, Tesla has shared the latest images from inside Gigafactory 3 showing production processes in place:

The automaker noted they went from an empty lot to a full car in just 10 months:

Tesla noted that it expects China to become the biggest market for Model 3:

China is by far the largest market for mid-sized premium sedans. With Model 3 priced on par with gasoline-powered mid-sized sedans (even before gas savings and other benefits), we believe China could become the biggest market for Model 3.

In May, Tesla opened reservations for the made-in-China Model 3 starting at ~$47,500.

The Model 3 vehicles built at the factory are exempt from expensive import duties and they will have access to more local EV incentives than Tesla’s vehicles imported from California.

For now, Tesla reports a planned production capacity of 150,000 Model 3 vehicles per year at Gigafactory 3.

You can read our Tesla Q3 2019 earnings post for more news coming out of the earnings.